Friday, March 28, 2014

Muppets Most Wanted may not be setting any U.S. box office records compared to the 2011 The Muppets big screen revival, but I thought this latest cinematic outing of Jim Henson's creations was great fun, with all your favourite Muppets in character and with some stand out musical numbers, like 'The Big House' and 'I'll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu)'.

In the Muppets newest adventure, after their comeback the gang are convinced to go on a world tour by Ricky Gervais' 'Dominic Badguy', who is in league with a 'Kermit the Frog' imposter and master criminal, 'Constantine'. Meanwhile whilst Kermit is thrown into a Russian Gulag where Tina Fey is the warden, the diabolical duo use the Muppets stage shows to distract from their crime heists, with the ultimate goal to steal England's Crown Jewels.

With no Kermit to manage the show, all kinds of things go on that would never have happened, like an extra long sleep-inducing music gig by 'Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem', including fan-favourite 'Animal' on drums.

Animal's drum set props from Muppets Most Wanted

Here's Animal's percussion drum set on display from the movie, plus the band's colourful loudspeakers.

The Muppets world tour takes them to Berlin, Madrid, Dublin and London, and here's Miss Piggy's Berlin dressing room set on display. The German translation of The Muppets makes for a nice visual language gag with the 'Die Muppets' venuesign.

Miss Piggy's Berlin dressing room set from Muppets Most Wanted

Even though this Berlin set doesn't appear in the movie for long, it goes to show how much work and effort, and the little touches, that go into creating the Muppets world.

Constantine and his henchman's crime spree through the galleries and vaults of Europe is actually a quest to find clues to help them steal the British Crown Jewels. To do this they steal a painting of 'Colonel Thomas Blood' which has a secret treasure map on the back, which leads them to a golden locket and key in the Irish National Bank in Dublin.

Ricky Gervais bust from Muppets Most Wanted

The bust from Madrid's museum is actually an ancestor of Dominic Badguy and the coins at the base are the calling card of his criminal persona, 'The Lemur', which he leaves at the scene of a crime.

By thew way the knight statues above are from the Tower of London vault where the Crown Jewels are kept.

In the movie Ty Burrell plays a French Interpol inspector, 'Jean Pierre Napoleon', trying to solve these crimes with the aid of the CIA's 'Sam the Eagle'.

Badge credential props from Muppets Most Wanted

These I.D. credential props are from a fun scene where the international law enforcement agents try to one-up each other with the size of their badges, and you can also see more if you take a look at Ty Burrell's Interpol badge costume from Muppets Most Wanted on display at ArcLight Sherman Oaks cinema. As you can see, Sam the Eagle wins this battle of wills when his giant CIA badge arrives via UPS carrier.

Le Maximum Interpol car prop from Muppets Most Wanted

And finally, another one of these tiny green Le Maximum Interpol car props was on display at ArcLight Sherman Oaks, but the El Capitan Theatre also had one in their foyer for cinema goers to enjoy.

As you can see there was a wealth of fantastic props to enjoy and you can see them all in person at the Hollywood venue, along with the costumes and Miss Piggy's Vivienne Westwood wedding dress, until April 17, 2014.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Muppets Most Wanted is the sequel to The Muppets 2011 big screen revival (and the seventh follow-up to their 1979 cinematic debut) and once again 'Miss Piggy' steals the show with her Couture Collection of costume changes, proving she truly is the most glamorous pig in the world. Here are just a selection of her wardrobe choices from the new Muppets movie on display at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on March 21, 2014.

Original costumes worn by Miss Piggy in Muppets Most Wanted

In this film Miss Piggy finally gets her man down the aisle, although she soon discovers he's not the frog she thought he was, instead he's the master criminal and 'Kermit the Frog' doppelgänger, 'Constantine'. If you're a fan of the Muppets fabulous diva, be sure to also check out Miss Piggy's showstopping Vivienne Westwood designed wedding gown on display.

Muppets Most Wanted movie poster

This sequel sees Jim Henson's famous puppets manipulated into a world tour traveling through Berlin, Madrid, Dublin and London to cover up a series of robberies by Constantine and his accomplice 'Dominic Badguy' (Ricky Gervais), who poses as their tour manager, whilst Kermit is thrown into a Siberian Gulag prison, as they plot to steal the British Crown Jewels.

First up in her exclusive collection is the costume Miss Piggy wears for the dazzling opening musical number of the movie, 'We're Doing a Sequel'. This stylish sleeveless white tailcoat and metallic mullet skirt (the only time she's been known to wear one) is accented at the waist with crystals and complimented by crystal-embellished fishnet stockings, with a golden top hat completing the show-starting ensemble.

Miss Piggy opening number swimsuit costume from Muppets Most Wanted

Next is the mermaid-inspired green sequin swimsuit the entertainer wears for the finale of the opening number when she appears out of a giant clamshell. The sparkling outfit features a fish-scale sequin bodied with a short gathered skirt of layered shimmering sheer and teal metallic mesh net, plus more crystal-accented fishnet stockings and jeweled shoes to complete the look.

Something So Right duet dress designed by Vivienne Westwood

for Miss Piggy in Muppets Most Wanted

Being a worldwide fashion icon Miss Piggy is dressed by the best designers and this sleek and form-fitting dress was designed by her close personal friend, Vivienne Westwood (who also created her wedding gown). She wears this stylish dress of pewter grey sequins and beads when she sings her duet of 'Something So Right' with another of her close personal friends, Celine Dion.

Although in the movie that sequence is in mood appropriate black and white, so it's nice to see this dress and Vivienne Westwood + Melissa heart shoes as it was intended in colour.

Miss Piggy Madrid Flamenco costume from Muppets Most Wanted

Speaking of colour, this dramatic red flamenco outfit is worn by our star when the Muppets world tour hits Madrid and she performs the Macarena song and dance with flamingos (only on the Muppets can you say that I'm sure), plus they sing the Muppets intro theme song in Spanish too.

This traditional flamenco ensemble consists of a skirt of rich red silk charmeuse and a bodice of embroidered floral lace with red sequins over a nude mesh net, the outfit is topped with a red tulle netted shawl with red silk fringe and beads, a black mantilla veil and a black Spanish hair comb.

Dublin proposal dress worn by Miss Piggy in Muppets Most Wanted

Finally here's the moss green velvet bias-cut dress that the femme fatale wears in Dublin when Constantine, pretending to be Kermit, proposes to Miss Piggy in the middle of her stage performance.